Tape accumulator



. Oct. 21, 1941.

A. DRENKARD, JR

TAPE ACCUMULATOR Filed April 6, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l iNvENToR A. @REN KARD, JR

OCt- 21, 1941 A, DRENKAR'D, JR 2,259,517

TAPE ACCUMULATOR Filed April 6, 1939 `2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lllllll/l/lll/ll/ll INVENTOR Y 5K8: A. DRENKARD, JR. 82 BY e ToR l Patented Oct'. 2 1, 1941 TAPE socUMULA'ron Adam Drenkard, Jr., Grantwood, N. J., assignor to The vWestern Union Telegraph Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Appuemn Api-u c, 193s, serial N0. 266,276

'(cl. 17a-17.5)

20 Claims.

This invention relates to telegraph apparatus and has particular reference to novel means for the storage of loose tape.

In certainv types of telegraph systems, in order to eliminate the manual retransmission of mesaccumulate beforeany particular channel over which it is to be retransmitted becomes available. f

Hence it is an object of the instant invention to provide means for temporarily storing in an orderly fashion an appreciable amount of perforated tape.

The invention has for another of its objects the provision of s meansfor guiding the tape loop, formed between a perforator and a transmitter, into a storage compartment which may be located at some distance from the telegraph apparatus. v.

Another object o'f the invention is to provide means` within the storage compartment and the .guideway leading thereto to permit the orderly withdrawal of tape from the compartment.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of means for preventing the accumulation of a charge of static electricity by the tape. A further object of the invention is to furnish the storage compartment and the guideway with means affording a view of the tape -contained therein.

The functioning of the means provided for the attainment of these and other more specific ob-' jects of the invention will be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 is an assembly view of the storage apparatus in elevation, showing the relation of the storage compartment and its connecting guideway to the associated telegraph apparatus; i

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a' top or plan view of the mouth of Fig. 5 is a, view in elevation of-a modification of the storage compartment; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-4 of Fig. 5.

Having reference first to Fig.l, there is shown a tape perforator II and a tape transmitter I2, mounted on a shelf or platform I3. Mounted on the underside of a second shelf or platform I4, located at some distance below the shelf I 2 and which may have installed thereon similar or other apparatus, is a rectangular storage compartment I6. A guideway I1 extending upward from the storage compartment I6, through a suitable opening I8 in the shelf I4 and a corresponding opening in the shelf I3, is so proportioned and arranged that the upper end thereof is situated between the perforator II and the transmitter I2 in line with the tape-handling facilities of thesee pieces of apparatus. When there is an accumulation of tape between the perforator and the transmitter, a loop is formed and is guided by means of some of the instruthe guideway showing some of the details assoof Fis. 3; l

24 which comprise the top of the compartment t are fastened to the upper ends of the side members 2| and 22 by means of two bars 24 and a plurality oi' suitable screws. Attached to the underside of the shelf I4 by means of screws is an angle 21, the depending leg of which is provided with a hole. Adjacent the upper end of the side member 22 is a projecting pin 24. The storage compartment Il is attached to the underside of shelf I4 by inserting the pin 24 into the hole in the depending leg of the angle 2'I and is detachably held in position by means of a screw 2| attached to the shelf I4 and a wing nut 2| engaging a bracket 22, which is attached to the side member 2| and provided with an extending lug having a slot into which the screw 24 may be inserted. The front and rear walls of the compartment are formed by transparent glass panels Il and 24, which are set in suitable recesses formed in the framework so that the outer surfaces thereof are flush with the outer surfaces of the framework members. The glass work by screws l1 and 44. The spacing between sition by means of a nut 1I.

ary tape guide 51.

the inner surfaces of the glass panels is slightly greater than the width of the tape i9.

A plurality of channel sections 3Q are affixed to the inside of the framework along the two sides, 2i and 22, and to the bottom 23 thereof by means of a plurality of escutcheon pins or small wood screws di. The channels 39 are mounted in the framework so that the open sides thereof are directed inwardly, thereby forming two con1 tinuous ribs extending around the two sides and bottom of the compartment.

The connecting guideway il is formed by two side members i2 and it which are fastened to gether in spaced relation at the bottom by two plates ifi and at the top by two plates i6 and di. The lower plates dfi are arranged so that they are in contact with the bars 2S of the compartment iii thereby providing asupport for the guideway il? at the lower end thereof. The guideway is` lattached adjacent the upper end thereof to the shelf itby means of an angle fili. The front and rear walls of the guideway ii are formed by glass panels d@ and 5i which are mounted in a manner'similar to the panels di? and 35i and fastened in place by a plurality of clips 52; A tapering portion 53, having its wide end at the top, is formed on the inside of the side member 42, thus producing a guideway having a cross-section which increases as the lower end is approached. The inner surfaces of the members 42 and i3 are provided with channels 5d mounted similarly to those of the storage compartment i6. In this, a preferred embodiment, the guldewayi1 communicates with the storage compartment It at a point remote fromeither of the sides 2i and 22 thereof.

Referring to Figs. 2, 3 and i the details associated with the top or mouth of the guideway are shown.A A holder or retaining member t is formed with a recess which is open at the top. This holder also is provided with a tape guide 51 located near the top thereof and extending in the direction of the tape perforator. Forming a unitary structure with the holder 56 is a supporting member 58 which is provided with flanges 59 and Bi. These flanges are disposed on opposite sides of the guideway member 43 and are attached thereto by means of two bolts S2.

A tape moistening device 63 is mounted in the v recess formed in the holder 56 and has an elongated form, a cross section of which is substantially rectangular. It also is provided with an opening 64 in the top surface thereof. The device is fllled with moistened wick material 6b, a portion of which 66 protrudes slightly through the opening 64. Two guide bars 61 are attached to one side of the moistening device 63 and serve to position the device in the holder 56.

One of the guideway spacing bars 41 is provided with an upwardly extending arm 68, Vadjacent the upper end of which is a tapped hole into which a screw 69 is threaded and locked in po- A tape guide 12, provided with a hinge 13, .is arranged to pivot on the screw.` and, in its operating position, extends laterally in the direction of the tape perforator in cooperative relation with the station- An arcuate tape guide 1l. provided with a hinge 16. is also pivoted on the screw 69. ,The guide 14 is disposed on the opposite side of the pivot screw69 with respect to the guide 12 and is arranged so that the free Aend thereof follows a normal cycle o! movement lwithin the mouth of the guideway. Arod 11 is datati? laterally thereof. This pin or rod extends on eitherside beyond the edges of the guide 1t and is adapted for engagement with the plates it and el thereby limiting the downward movement of the guide.

That portion of the tape is projecting .from the perforator ii is inserted between the guides 5i and i2 and underneath the guide 1d before it is inserted into the transmitter i2. The threading of the tape through the various guides is accomplished by lifting, to a substantially vertical position, the guides l2 and 1Q. With the guides in these positions, the threading operation may be easily effected. The guidesare then allowed to assume the positions shown in Fig. 4, thus bringing the tam it into contact with the moistening wick t. When there is no accumulation of tape between the perforator and the transmitter the` tape is drawn relatively tight between these two pieces of apparatus and takes the position shown by the dotted lines of Fig. Li. It 'will be seen that in such a position the curved guide member it is carried upward by the tape into the position shown dotted. In addition to serving as a. stop for the guide l, the rod 1i may eect the operation oi acontact by which the operation oi the transmitter may be controlled. l

If the transmitter i2 is inoperative by reason of the line circuit associated therewith being unavailable to this transmitter or for any other reason, and additional tape is perforated by the perforator ii, the small tape loop formed in the mouth of the guideway' il is increased. That portion of the tape `which is located between the two sides of the guideway mouth is carried ldown further into the mouth by the weight of the guide 1t. When this guide has reached the limit of'its downward travel the loop of tape will be well disposed within the mouth of the guideway. Election of tape from the perforator 'ii causes the tape i9 to be propelled between .the closely spaced guides 5i and 12 and across the moistening wick 66. It should be noted that the'l weight of the guide 12 is only suiicient to force the tape IQ into relatively light contact with the moistning wick 65. It has been found that it 'is necessary to meisten the tape before it is inserted into theguideway in order to eliminate the effect of static electricity. The presence of such a condition produces a tendency for the tape to adhere to the walls of the guiding.

structure, thereby preventing proper functioning of the apparatus.

It will be4 apparent that any appreciable amount of friction between the tape and any of the guiding structures will prevent the apparatus from functioning. Hence, it is important.

in a device of this nature. to minimize the area of contact between the tape and the guiding and storage devices in order to reduce friction and static eiect. i This is accomplished in .the instant invention by use of the channels 54 in theI guideway and similar channels 39,in the storage compartment. Thus the -tape surface only comes in contact with the relatively small ridges formed .bythe channels. It also has been found that,

in order .to force the loop of tape down through the long guldeway i1, the cross section of the suideway must be increased as the distance from the mouth thereof increases.

When the loop of tape has been forced through the entire length of the guideway I1, it is-permitted to enter the large storage compartment attached to the Aupper surface of the 4guide 14 75 Il, The tape accumulates on the bottom of the compartment Il and, as more and more. of it is forced into the compartment, it becomes arranged in folds or layers. It is. apparent that a very large quantity of perforated tape may thus be stored in the compartment il which, because of its confining nature, maintains the store of tape in a very orderly manner.

When the transmitter I2 becomes connected with a circuit and starts to draw tape from the .accumulated supply, this tape must be drawnl from the bottom of the pile disposed within the storage compartment I6.' Here again the importance of the channels 39 and M becomes emphasized. Since the depth Vo r thickness of the compartment is only slightly greater than the width of the tape, it will be seen that even -What is claimed is;

1. In apparatus for handling a loop of tape, a storage compartment for said tape loop, and a guideway having one end thereof in communication with said compartment, and means whereby said communicating end serves jointly as the 'entrance and. exit of said compartment for said l in communication therewith, and a loop formthough the withdrawal of tape from the bottom while another perforator is preparing substan' tial amounts of tape for transmission over that circuit, the accumulated material may be rerouted over the spare circuit. It is principally for this reason that the accumulator and its communicating guideway are provided with glass panels ailording a view of the tape contained therein. Hence an attendant, noticing a considerable accumulation in one vor more compartments, may detach any desired amount oi the accumulated tape and transmit it over the spare facilities. 'I'he glass panels also are of value in observing the functioning of the ac-A cumulator.

A modified form of storage compartment is shown in Figs. 5 and 6 to which reference may be had for the following portion of the description. The glass panels 'I8 and 'Ii are mounted in a framework Il substantially similar to the device previously described. The inner surfaces of the two sides and the bottom of the compartment are provided with channels l2. The compartment is mounted on the underside of the shelf by two angles Il and 84 and isprovided with an opening leading into the compartment in onelof the upper corners thereof. In order to prevent a possible cloning of the opening It by several foldsl of the accumulated tape as it is being withdrawn from the compartment,

' thereof.

ing member disposed at the other end of said guideway.

3. Apparatus for storing a loop of tape comprising a pair of substantially vertical spaced members forming a part of a guideway, a storage compartment disposed at the lower vend of said guideway and invcommunication therewith, and a deilector disposed adjacent the upper end of said guideway and extending into thev mouth thereof. y

4. Apparatus for storing a loop of tape comprising a substantially .vertical guideway having two diverging sides, a storage compartment disposed at the lower end of said guideway and in communication therewith, and a direction changing tape guide disposed adjacent the upper end of said guideway and leading into the mouth 5. Apparatus for storing a loop of tape comprising a substantially vertical guideway having two diverging sides and two parallel sides spaced slightly in excess of the width o'f said tape, va storage compartment disposed at the lower end of said guideway and in communication therewith, and a deflecting member pivoted adjacent the upper end of said guideway and depending into 'the mouth thereof.

6. Apparatusfor storing a gloop of tape comprising a substantially vertical guideway formed in part by a pair of opposed spaced members, a

storage compartment disposed at the lower end 'l. Apparatus for storing a loop of'tape com-A prising a storage compartment, a guideway communicating therewith, a hinged member pivoted adjacent the mouth of said guideway and having a deector Il is located directly below the opening. This deflector is mounted by means of a screw IA extending through a slot Il formed in the side of the compartment, and thereby 'provides an adjustment by which the deflector may be positioned at an elevation producing maximum effectiveness thereof. '.As the tape is withdrawn from the compartment. it is drawn over the denector 81 and, if other folds of the tape' adhere to that portion being drawn into the guideway, they are deflected into the center ofA the compartment by means of the deilector.

, AAlthough there has been illustrated and described what is at present considered to befa preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled-in the art that varithe free end thereof supported in said mouth by a predetermined length of tape, means including said-hinged member for guiding more than said predetermined length of tape into said guideway, a shoulder formed on said hinged member,

and'means including said shoulder for restricting the movements of said hinged member to predetermined limits.

compartment comprising a framework formed of` a top, bottom. and two sides, two transparent panels mounted in said framework to form 'the front and rear walls of said compartment, said panels being spaced apart slightly more than the width of said tape, the top of said compartamati? puller, a storage receptacle for said tape dis-s posed intermediate of said ejector and said puller and provided with a narrow opening, means for guiding the ejected tape through said open-- 'charges on said tape prior to its passage into v said receptacle.

ic. 'rae combination 'ora tape conditioning device, a tape utilizing device, and apparatus for storing unused conditioned tape in excess of a predetermined amount comprising a storage com partaient, a guideway communicating therewith, V

and a loop-forming hinged member pivoted adjacent the moutho said guideway and having a normal cycle oi movement within the mouth oi said guideway.

ii. In combination a source of tape, a narrow elongated passageway, meansfor feeding said tape from said source and into said passageway, and separate means for withdrawing said tape from the same end of said passageway through which it entered. i

l2. The combination of a tape conditioning Y device, a tape utilizing device, means including an enclosed receptacle disposed intermediate of said tape conditioning device and said tape v utilizing device for storing variable amounts of tape between said two devices, saidreceptacle being provided with a single opening, and means whereby said opening forms a combined entrance and exit for said tape.

l13. The combination of. a tape conditioning device, a tape utilizing device, means including an enclosed receptacle disposed intermediate of and remote from said tape conditioning device and said tape utilizing device for storing variable amounts of tape between said two devices', said receptacle being provided with a single opening, and means whereby said opening forms a combined entrance and exit for said tape.

' 14. The combination of'a tape conditioning device, a tape utilizing device, means including anV enclosed receptacle disposed intermediate of said l tape conditioning device and said tape utilizing device and remote from said tape conditioning device for storing variable amounts of'tape between sald two devic'es, said receptacle being provided with a single opening, and means whereby said opening forms a combined entrance and exit for said tape.

15. 'Ihe combination of a tape ejector, a tape 17. Tape storage mechanism comprising a storage receptacle, means for directing tape into said receptacle, and means for moistening said ,tape prior to its passage into said receptacie.

le. In combination, aitape conditioning device, a` tape ut device, means including a tape chute for storing variable amounts oi tape between said tape conditioning device and said v tape utilizing device, said tape having the char acteristic oi accumulating electrostatic charges during movement of the tape, the charged por@ tions ci the tape tending to cause it to sticii to said tape chute, and means for preventing the tape from sticking to the chute comprising means for eliminating the electrostatic charges from the tape,

19. In combination, a tape conditioning device, a tape utilizing device, a storage receptacle for accumulating variable amounts of said condi= tioned tape, means Aincluding a chute for guiding said conditioned tape into said receptacle, said tape having the characteristic of accumulating electrostatic charges during movement of the tape, the charged portions 'or the tape tending to cause it to stick to said chute and to said recep= tacle, and meansfor preventing the tape from sticking to the chute and to the receptacle com.1

Iprising means' for eliminating the electrostatic charges from the tape.

20. Apparatus for storinga loop of tape comprising a storage compartment, a guideway communicating therewith, a tape moistening device dimosed adjacent the mouth of said guideway..

a pair of hinged guides pivoted adjacent the mouth of said guideway, one of said guides having one face thereof flat and normally extending from said guideway, the other. of said guides having one face thereof concave and normally extending into said guideway, means including said flat-faced guide for eecting contact between said tape and said molstening device, and means including said concave-faced member for deflecting the tape into said guidewav.`

ADAM DRENxARp, Jn. 

